Navigation at night can easily be accomplished via stars and constellations and various other means exist to make a rough estimate of direction, but during the day, to make an accurate assessment of north and south, you must have a compass. Here's how to construct a simple compass in the wild. Components and…

For many reasons it is sometimes necessary or advisable to build one's survival shelter raised off the ground. Especially is this true in the more tropical countries where noxious snakes and insects abound. A simple form of raised shelter is shown by Fig. 63. To build this shelter we must…

Char cloth (or charred cloth) is a swatch of fabric made from vegetable linen, such as cotton, that has been converted ( decomposed using a process call pyrolysis) into a slow-burning fuel of very low ignition temperature. A single, small spark placed on char cloth will ignite the cloth which…

Interesting idea – a paracord “grenade”. The cable ties, which allow you to hang the cord from jackets, belts, and backpacks, are the releasable type – press the end and it releases. When the cable tie is removed, the rope releases in 10 foot sections making it convenient to quickly…

Samsung today introduced its new Galaxy Xcover 2, a ruggedized smartphone designed for outdoor adventurers and survival situations. It is dust and sand proof and water resistant up to a depth of one meter (it can hold its breath underwater for up to 30 minutes). The rugged little beast features…

A Cat Food Can Stove is probably one of the easiest cooking stoves to make. In addition, it is lightweight and foolproof. It never clogs and there are no moving parts to break. They burn ethanol or methanol alcohol so finding fuel is easy. Simply pour alcohol-based fuel in it…

In a survival situation, a mixture of mud and grasses can be used to create a substance known as “survival cement”. Survival cement can be used to construct shelters, create cookware, kilns, and to wrap foods for “clay baking”. It takes two ingredients to make cement in the wild –…

Wood for arrow shafts Making arrows while in the wild is not difficult (although getting the wood shafts straight and keeping them straight is an age-old problem). To begin, collect shoots to use for the shafts (slightly dried wood is better than green wood). Dogwood makes the best shafts, but…

A Trebuchet (pronounced treb-oo-shay) is a medieval siege engine that transfers gravitational energy into kinetic energy – similar to a playground see-saw. In ancient times, it was used to launch (throw) projectiles including boulders, dead horses, and diseased bodies into or over castle walls to soften the defenses in preparation…

This device took off in New York when Hurricane Sandy survivors discovered it provided heat, boiled water, and allowed them to jack in to its USB port to charge their smartphone devices. The Biolite CampStove sells for $129 and runs off of any renewable biomass such as twigs, wood scraps,…

Random Mass Public Shootings Despite what many believe, random mass public shootings are not uncommon occurrences. For instance, during six months in 2012, there were at least six random, mass shooting incidents (one in a drive by shooting spree killing 3 people, two in schools killing a total of 10…

Your interest in survival may derive from several sources or concerns – general safety preparedness, camping, hiking, and backpacking, self-defense, religious beliefs, ecological concerns and beliefs, natural disaster, bio-chemical warfare, overpopulation concerns, collapse of the financial system, or maybe you just enjoy the challenge of surviving in the wild. Regardless…

Extreme Weather Conditions Whether global warming or a natural cycle of atmospheric change, the worldwide weather patterns have worsened substantially. Global average surface temperature has increased steadily since 1970. Precipitation patterns have changed around the world and after 2,000 years of little change, sea levels have risen by 8 inches with…

About the Mountain Lion or Cougar Unlike bears (see defense against bear attacks here), Mountain Lions (also known as cougar, puma, mountain lion, mountain cat, catamount or panther) usually go after a person with the intent to eat them. They tend to stalk their victim before the attack and they…

About Bears Forget the generic bear defense tips you read on other sites. Although there are many common defense strategies, how you defend yourself against a bear attack depends on the species of bear. In addition, poor wilderness etiquette can increase bear dangers for your fellow outdoorsmen so you must…

Carabiner Brake Introduction Rappelling typically makes use of specialized equipment, such as brake racks and other lowering devices, but in an emergency situation, you can make a rappelling rig using carabiners and rope. Called a “carabiner brake”, it offers the benefits of not twisting the rope and providing more even…

What is Belaying? Belaying is a method of applying friction to the rope to control the amount of rope that is paid out or taken in. It is also used to arrest a climber that has fallen or to control the rate of descent of a load from a higher…

Bowline on a coil The bowline on a coil is utilized to secure a climber to the end of the climbing rope. Utilize a minimum of three wraps parallel to each other and laying between the hip bone and lower set of ribs. All coils touch and are tight enough…

Rappel seat left hand brake The rappel seat is utilized to form a rope harness for rappelling and can be tied for use with the left or right hand. Leg straps do not cross, and are centered on buttocks and tight. Leg straps form locking half-hitches on rope around waist. …

How to tell if a fish is toxic or poisonous There are no simple rules to tell edible fish from those with poisonous flesh and it's a simple fact - toxic fish contain various types of poisonous substances or toxins in their flesh and are dangerous to eat. In general however, they…

Terebra shells Terebridae species These shells are found in both temperate and tropical waters. They are similar to cone shells but much thinner and longer. They poison in the same way as cone shells, but their venom is not as poisonous.

Cone shells Conidae species These cone-shaped shells have smooth, colorful mottling and long, narrow openings in the base of the shell. They live under rocks, in crevices and coral reefs, and along rocky shores and protected bays in tropical areas. All have tiny teeth that are similar to hypodermic needles.…

Portuguese man-of-war Physalis species Although it resembles a jellyfish, the Portuguese man-of-war is actually a colony of sea animals. Mainly found in tropical regions; however, the Gulf stream current can carry it as far as Europe. It is also found as far south as Australia. The floating portion of the…